Sabbian- bass player and narrator for the story. The band, or the Herd as Sab calls them, is all important next to the music. Life in a band is everything. Sabbian struggles to deal with the gig on a cruise ship to Mars. This is a tourist run and the ship wanted this band's distinctive quality - they played rock 'n' roll music, the only band in the universe that still did. The problem was with the management. The gig was sponsored by a sleazy Las Vegas casino owner named Bocca Romero. Then there was the local management. The newly hired Eddy Banker had his own agenda. He booked this gig. Then Manny and old friend that was the band's agent, was acting odd about the whole thing. Sabbian didn't see it coming.

Stowaways on the ship were pilgrims of sort, trying to reach Mars and denied anyone else the privilege of remaining on the Red Planet. They felt it belonged to them - and they had a point. But this led to a rough trip for the band as they had to negotiate there contracts with the devil every step of the way to stay alive.

Johanna - provided the heat. She inspired the band and Sabbian's libido. Problem was, Johanna had the hots for the drummer, Tyco. She really had a healing touch to the band, but knew too much about the deals going down with Bocca. Her struggle was to find the truth and keep the band from flying apart. The fact she used DNA-shifting to enhance her stage presence was ignored by the band. What harm could it do?

Johanna liked cats, big cats. She saw herself as a leopard. This attracted another strange cat, Paul Betterfield, a cat like NDA-shifter himself. You can see a rift in the band. Three ways are out - somebody has to win her heart and that, my friend, is one of the interesting twists in this story.

Tyco- was the other half of the rhythm section. Between Sab's pounding bass lines and Tyco's fire, the band had become legendary. Tyco was into DNA-shifting, but it was a bad mix, since his DNA had properties that weren't totally understood until tragedy struck. Harmonics in the new music Sab and his brother Billy were working up, had an effect on Tyco. It should have been a sign, but it wasn't until the ship was underway that the significance of this hit home.

It seems our mutant stowaways were also adversely affected by the music's harmonics. This set off a chain of events that's best left to the story teller.

Tyco was the most out of control dude in the band and the most loved. His legacy was a driving force that made the band survive the ordeal that had to face.

Jissa Beesee - was the male lead singer with Johanna. Their voices killed. The power of the music was carried to new heights when they took the stage. Jissa also played lead guitar. His soul mate was Bastianni. They were inseparable. They lived life big and they were in it for the joy. The best band mates you could ask for.

One thing he could do worth a damn was drive a lunar rover. The band was nearly killed on that adventure, when the real threat was elsewhere.

Of course, Jissa's skill in open cabin doors with a swizzle stick proved to be his best talent.

Bastianni Kosh - played rhythm guitar with a heart of gold. He was always there with a smile and a goofy attitude. He was a real space cadet. Basti was into fashion. He also kept his body in great shape. The two things went together. He had style, something he was always trying to bring to Jissa. It never took. Jissa was a mess and Basti looked almost as good as Johanna - well that's stretching it. Let's just say Bastianni had a presence.

Bocca Romero - What can you say about the meanest man in the world, a real sleazball. Romero and his brother Anrico were a force to contend with. They thought they had figured out these desert mutants and made a deal to get rich at the expense of the passengers and crew of the cruise ship Palladium Queen, to include this band. What was not fully appreciated was the cunning to these little people. They had the smarts and the will to give and then take away in spades. Never play cards with a mutant. They cheat.

Unfortunately, for Bocca the stars didn't align and other casino dealers plan to have Bocca for dinner. All the cuisine that you would expect from a group of Vegas thugs.

Manny Millet - was the band's agent and good friend. But like a lot of agents in the music business, they can sometimes turn on you. Manny never meant to hurt anyone, but what can you do when your back is to the wall.

Manny found himself in a jam. He had to come clean and actually did the best thing possible by being the one that recognized the effect the band's new music and the peculiar harmonics it contained had on the mutants. That fact didn't help him out much when he finally had the face the music himself and negotiate the britches off with those little bastards.

Manny also has a pivotal part in the story when he discovers the most amazing things about the band and the people who make it up. He could believe it at first, but it was true. Now, how could he tell them when they were so far away and running for their lives. It would have to wait. Would he wait too long?

Billy Taconno - Billy was Sabbian's younger brother. He had just finished his time in the LA School of Music for Boys. Billy and Sabbian were orphan kids that were lucky enough to be talented and ended up in a music school. The hope of the school is they could learn a profession and successfully break away from the school. The band Sab created was the ticket out of the school.

Billy also played keyboard, which turned out to be critical in the end. The synthesized sounds of Sab and Billy's music was something new, something dangerous.

Jimmy - worked his heart out for this band. He loved everything they did. He was their biggest fan, but being too close to this band could get you killed, which happened more than once. Jimmy started to become gun shy. Everywhere he turned another mutant was in his face threatening. Enough already!

Jimmy's loyalty in the end was just what it took to survive this ordeal. He came through when they needed it most. Bless Jimmy, for he knew not what he did, but it was righteous.